Five months before Pennsylvania Republicans choose a nominee to run for the seat of retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R.-Pa., sources close to Donald Trump say the former president is very favorable toward surgeon Mehmet Oz—known from TV appearances as “Dr. Oz.”
“President Trump makes it clear he has known Dr. Oz for years and likes him a lot,” said one source close to Trump who requested anonymity, “He wants him to win the Senate primary in May.”
At this point, Oz is leading -- but the primary race should tighten.
Oz, former hedge fund head David McCormick, former Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands, and 2018 lieutenant governor nominee Jeff Bartos are considered the most formidable contenders in a 14-candidate field. All are considered Trump allies.
Although Trump has nothing against any of the leading GOP hopefuls, he reportedly feels he knows Dr. Oz the best and considers him a good friend.
They also have a lot in common, having left television stardom for political careers.
Oz played down his politics while playing the role of a celebrity doctor, but friends have always known him to be a strong conservative Republican and pro-Trump.
“The [Republican] state committee will meet on Feb. 5, but it is unlikely to endorse anyone in the Senate primary,” Lowman Henry, veteran Keystone State conservative activist and head of the conservative Lincoln Institute, told Newsmax.
Such neutrality by the party would almost certainly help a candidate who can be closely tied to Trump.
It’s not clear Trump will make an endorsement in the race.
McCormick is expected to be a strong contender. He is independently wealthy and has close ties to Republican leaders in the state. McCormick also knows Trump since his wife, Dina Powell, served in Trump’s White House.
Last year, Trump did endorse former U.S. Army Ranger Sean Parnell when he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Toomey’s seat.
But highly negative publicity about Parnell’s divorce led him to bow out.
For now, our source said, Trump feels telling friends that he favors Oz is sufficient.
via newsmax